Temperature probe systems and methods

ABSTRACT

Temperature probe systems and methods include a probe body having a sharp end adapted to penetrate an edible substance, a plurality of temperature sensing elements distributed along a length of the probe body, electrical components operable to receive data signals from the plurality of temperature sensing elements, the electrical components disposed in the probe body between the sharp end and at least one of the temperature sensing elements, and an insertion aid. The electrical components may include wireless components to facilitate communications with a host cooking appliance, and the temperature sensing elements may be used to measure temperature and communicate the temperature measurements via the wireless components to the host cooking appliance. The insertion aid, the probe body, and the temperature sensing elements may include one or more heat resistant materials.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/891,932, entitled “TEMPERATURE PROBE SYSTEMS AND METHODS,” filed Aug.19, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/354,097, entitled “TEMPERATURE PROBE SYSTEMS AND METHODS,” filed Mar.14, 2019, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,422,037, on Aug. 23, 2022,which claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/643,737, filed Mar. 15, 2018, all of which areincorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various embodiments relate to cooking systems including, for example,cooking systems and methods using one or more temperature probes.

BACKGROUND

The art of cooking remains an “art” at least partially because of thefood industry's inability to help cooks to produce systematically awardworthy dishes. To make a full course meal, a cook often has to usemultiple cooking appliances, understand the heating patterns of thecooking appliances, and make dynamic decisions throughout the entirecooking process based on the cook's observation of the target food'sprogression (e.g., transformation due to cooking/heating), includingvisual monitoring and monitoring internal food temperature using atemperature probe. Because of this, while some low-end meals can bemicrowaved (e.g., microwavable meals) or quickly produced (e.g., instantnoodles), traditionally, truly complex meals (e.g., steak, kebabs,sophisticated dessert, etc.) cannot be easily produced systematicallyusing conventional cooking appliances.

The industry has yet to create an intelligent cooking system capable ofautomatically and consistently producing complex meals with precision,speed, and lack of skilled human intervention. One particular problem inbuilding an intelligent cooking instrument is to build a reliabletemperature probe that provides temperature feedback (e.g.,corresponding to the progression the food being cooked) to a computingdevice. In view of the foregoing, there is a continued need in the artfor improved cooking system and temperature probes.

SUMMARY

Improved temperature probe systems and methods are disclosed herein. Insome embodiments, a temperature probe includes a probe body having asharp end adapted to penetrate an edible substance, a plurality oftemperature sensing elements distributed along a length of the probebody, electrical components operable to receive data signals from theplurality of temperature sensing elements, the electrical componentsdisposed in the probe body between the sharp end and at least one of thetemperature sensing elements, and an insertion aid.

The electrical components may include wireless components to facilitatecommunications with a host cooking appliance, and the temperaturesensing elements may be used to measure temperature and communicate thetemperature measurements via the wireless components to the host cookingappliance.

The temperature probe may also include a handle on an end opposite fromthe sharp end, and an insertion aid that includes a stopper surroundingthe probe body and adjacent to the handle. The insertion aid, the probebody, and the temperature sensing elements may include one or more heatresistant materials capable of withstanding temperatures up to at least500 Fahrenheit. The insertion aid may also include at least oneinsertion depth reference to enable a user to determine how deep theprobe body is inserted into an edible substance when the probe body isinserted into the edible substance.

In some embodiments, a cooking appliance includes a chamber having adoor, at least one heating element including one or morewavelength-controllable filament assemblies at one or more locations inthe chamber, and a wireless connection interface to receive signals froma plurality of wireless temperature probes. The wireless connectioninterface may be adapted to receive one or more data signalscorresponding to temperature readings via at least one of a wirelessconnection, an inductive coupling, or a capacitive coupling.

The temperature probe may be a multi-point temperature probe operable totransmit streams of temperature readings, each stream corresponding to apoint along a length of the temperature probe. A plurality of wirelessinterfaces operable to track respective positions of the plurality ofwireless temperature probes may also be provided in the cookingappliance.

The cooking appliance may further include a cooking engine operable toreceive a continuous feed of temperature readings from the wirelesstemperature probe while executing a heat adjustment algorithmdynamically controlled in response to changes to the temperaturereadings. The cooking engine may detect a lowest temperature area of anedible substance being heated by the heating elements and to assign astream of temperature readings as corresponding to the center of theedible substance. The cooking engine may select a heating recipe tooperate the heating elements and detect the center of the ediblesubstance based on an insertion angle and/or an insertion depth of thetemperature probe dictated by the heating recipe.

In some embodiments, a method includes tracking, by a cooking appliance,at least one wireless temperature probe located outside the cookingappliance, detecting, by the cooking appliance, an insertion of the atleast one wireless temperature probe into an edible substance,determining, by the cooking appliance, whether the insertion of theleast one wireless temperature probe satisfies first insertion criteria,determining, by the cooking appliance, whether the at least one wirelesstemperature probe has been placed into the cooking appliance, detecting,by the cooking appliance, whether the insertion of the at least onewireless temperature probe satisfies second insertion criteria, thedetecting including criteria not included in the first insertioncriteria, and notifying a user if an insertion error is detected.

The method may further include receiving sensor data from thetemperature probe, the sensor data generated by a plurality oftemperature sensing elements. The cooking appliance may track atemperature measurement associated with each corresponding temperaturesensing element. The sensor data may also be received from anaccelerometer, and the cooking appliance operates to track orientationand motion data associated with the accelerometer. The temperaturesensor data and/or the accelerometer data may be used to determinewhether the insertion of the wireless temperature probe satisfies afirst insertion criterion, such as a depth of insertion. The method mayfurther include detecting the depth of insertion, including sensing, bythe at least one wireless temperature probe, ambient air temperature,and detecting a change in the sensed temperature, the change indicatinga likelihood of wireless temperature probe insertion into an ediblesubstance.

In some embodiments, the method may further include tracking, by thecooking appliance, a removal of the at least one wireless temperatureprobe from the cooking appliance, monitoring, by the cooking appliance,the temperature of the edible substance in accordance with a recipe andnotifying the user of a status of the recipe.

The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims, which areincorporated into this section by reference. A more completeunderstanding of the present disclosure will be afforded to thoseskilled in the art, as well as a realization of additional advantagesthereof, by a consideration of the following detailed description of oneor more embodiments. Reference will be made to the appended sheets ofdrawings that will first be described briefly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an adaptive cooking system, inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating functional components of anadaptive cooking appliance and related systems, in accordance withvarious embodiments.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are block diagrams illustrating an adaptive cookingapparatus and temperature probe, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 3C and 3D are perspective views of an interior chamber of one ormore cooking appliances, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating an adaptivecooking apparatus utilizing one or more temperature probes, inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are examples of temperature probes that monitortemperatures inside an edible substance to provide temperature feedbackto a cooking appliance, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C and 6D are block diagrams illustrating exampletemperature probes in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating the cookingappliance to cook a food substance utilizing temperature feedback, inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a cookingappliance to cook an edible substance, in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless temperaturemeasurement device in communication with a cooking appliance, inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device in communication with a cookingappliance.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device in communication with a cookingappliance and user device.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device in communication with a cookingappliance.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a cookingappliance with one or more wireless temperature probes, in accordancewith various embodiments.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of atemperature measurement device in communication with a cookingappliance.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of aplurality of temperature probes in a multi-zone cooking appliance.

The figures depict various embodiments of this disclosure for purposesof illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize fromthe following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structuresand methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing fromthe principles of embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Several embodiments disclose an adaptive cooking appliance (e.g., anoven, enclosed cooking chamber or otherwise) and one or more temperatureprobes to facilitate systematic production of complex meals. Theadaptive cooking appliance may have one or more heating elementscontrolled by a computing system (e.g., one or more of a computerprocessing unit (CPU), a controller, application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), or other components enabling system control) controllingthe operation of the adaptive cooking appliance, including monitoringone or more of the temperature probes. The computing system canimplement an interactive user interface to control or assist a user incontrolling the adaptive cooking appliance, including providing feedbackto the use on the proper insertion depth and angle of a temperatureprobe.

In various embodiments, the adaptive cooking appliance can instantiateand execute a heat adjustment algorithm (e.g., also referred to as“heating logic”) for implementing a recipe. The heat adjustmentalgorithm may include a set of instructions for configuring andcontrolling the operation of the cooking appliance, including adjustingtemperature and cooking time in response to real-time feedback receivedfrom one or more temperature probes. In some embodiments, the adaptivecooking appliance can directly emulate one or more types of conventionalcooking devices (e.g., an oven, a barbecue, a range, a microwave, asmoker, or any combination thereof). In some embodiments, the adaptivecooking appliance can download or receive (e.g., directly or indirectly)one or more recipes from a computer server system, including cookinglogic for implementing the recipe on the cooking appliance.

The use of a temperature probe inside the cooking appliance ischallenging for various reasons. For example, the weight of thetemperature probe can dislodge the temperature probe from the ediblesubstance while the heat adjustment algorithm is running and thusbreaking the feedback loop. Further, in systems where the temperatureprobe is wired (e.g., for power and/or communication), the wire tensionof the temperature probe can also dislodge the temperature probe fromthe edible substance. Embodiments of the temperature probe disclosedherein overcome these and other challenges with conventional temperatureprobes.

In various embodiments disclosed herein, a temperature probe can includemultiple sensors along its length to facilitate higher resolution of thetemperature gradients of the edible substance being heated. Thedisclosed temperature probe can also include an insertion aid (e.g., aring/disk around the body of the temperature probe) and markings on theprobe body to help align the multiple sensors relative to the sidesurface or upper surface of the edible substance. The alignment (e.g.,known by a computing device) of the sensors enables the computing devicecoupled to the cooking instrument to determine the center or otherdesired temperature measurement location of the edible substance. Thesensors in the temperature probe may be analyzed by the cookingappliance to provide the user with additional feedback on the properdepth and angle of the temperature probe in the edible substance.

The computer server system can include a recipe design interfaceallowing the creation of recipes and the generation of cooking logic forthe cooking appliance. For example, the recipe design interface cansimulate time series plot of temperature gradients of different foodprofiles (e.g., corresponding to different edible substance). The recipedesign interface can configure an emulation of a conventional cookingdevice and translate that into a set of heating element configurationparameters for the adaptive cooking appliance. In another example, therecipe design interface can specify temperature, duration, intendedcooking appliance emulation type (e.g., direct food roasting,impingement convection cooking, heated tray cooking, searing, etc.),expected user intervention (e.g., flipping the food or adding sauce orspices), operational modes (e.g., low stress mode vs. high speed mode),desired end states of the food (e.g., rare, medium, well-done for meat),or any combination thereof, each of which may be monitored by one ormore temperature probes as described herein.

Referring to FIG. 1 , an exemplary adaptive cooking system 100 for usewith one or more temperature probes will be described. An adaptivecooking appliance 110 includes heating components 112, feedbackcomponents 114 and an adaptive cooking engine 116. The heatingcomponents 112 include controllable heating elements, such as heatedfilaments. In various embodiments, the feedback components 114 includeone or more cameras, temperature probes (e.g., wired temperature probes,wireless temperature probes, or hybrid wired/wireless temperatureprobes, as described herein) and other sensors providing real-timefeedback during the cooking process. In various embodiments, othersensors may include an accelerometer associated with a temperature probeto sense an angle of insertion of the temperature probe into an ediblesubstance, an acoustic transducer and sensor for detecting properties ofthe edible substance, and other sensors. The cooking engine 116 executescooking logic to adaptively control the cooking of an edible substance,such as food, in accordance with a recipe and information received fromthe feedback components, such as the internal temperature of a food asmeasured by one or more temperature probes.

The adaptive cooking appliance 110 is operated at a location 120, suchas a user residence. In various embodiments, a user device 130, smartappliance 134 and other system components may be operated at location120 or distributed across two or more locations, allowing for remoteoperation of the cooking appliance (e.g., from a user's mobile phone)through the network 150. The user device 130 includes a clientapplication 132 for interfacing with the adaptive cooking appliance 110and a recipe server 140. In various embodiments, the user device 130 mayinclude a mobile device such a mobile phone, tablet or laptop computer,a desktop computer or other computing device adapted to communicate withthe adaptive cooking appliance 110 and/or recipe server 140 as describedherein. In some embodiments, a smart appliance 134, such as arefrigerator, may provide information to various system componentsconcerning ingredients available for various recipes. In operation, theadaptive cooking appliance 110 may receive a recipe through a userinterface of the cooking appliance, the client app 132 on the userdevice 130, the recipe server 140, or through another device. Thecooking engine 116 implements corresponding cooking logic forcontrolling the heating components 112, while monitoring the feedbackcomponents 114 such as one or more temperature probes to adaptivelycontrol the cooking process.

The adaptive cooking appliance 110 and user device 130 may connect tothe recipe server 140 through a network 150, such as the Internet. Inone embodiment, the recipe server 140 is connected to a recipe database142, which stores data associated with recipes and cooking logic forimplementation by the adaptive cooking appliance 110, a user database144, which stores user-specific information, such as favorite recipes,end-user generated recipes and other user generated content. In variousembodiments, the recipe database 142 stores one or more recipes, foodcharacteristics, heating algorithms, temperature probe data, othersensor data, cooking logic or other related information. In variousembodiments, the recipe server 140 provides cloud-based recipe storageand access. In some embodiments, the user device 130 can be connected tothe cooking appliance 110 via a wireless network, local area network, apeer to peer connection (e.g., Bluetooth), or another communicationsprotocol.

In various embodiments, the user database 144 stores information forusers of the adaptive cooking system, which may include userpreferences, stored recipes, an identification of adaptive cookingappliances 110 associated with the user, and subscription informationdefining access rights based on paid subscription levels. In oneembodiment, a user may pay for a subscription which provides the userwith access to the newest recipes, meal kits, integrated groceryservices through one or more vendors 152, specialized content (such asspecial cooking shows, or live social media events), early access tocontent, special functionality, discounts and a white-glove service. Inone embodiment, a vendor system 152 is connected to the recipe server140 through the network 150. A user operating the user device 130 mayaccess content on the recipe server 140, including recipes and an optionto purchase corresponding meal kits (e.g., an aggregation of preparedingredients, cooking supplies and/or instructions for preparing a mealin accordance with a user skill level or preference), pre-prepped foods(e.g., uncooked food that has been prepared ready for oven cooking),ingredients, supplies, etc., from the vendor for delivery to the userlocation 120 or another specified location. In one embodiment, when themeal kits or ingredients are delivered, the vendor system 152 may notifythe recipe server 140, adaptive cooking appliance 110 or user device 130that the delivery has arrived, and the recipe server 140 (or vendorsystem 152, user device 130 or other system device) transmits the recipeand associated cooking logic to the adaptive cooking appliance 110,allowing the user to cook the delivered meal kits or ingredients inaccordance with the corresponding recipe.

In various embodiments, the system 100 may also include a contentprovider 154 providing food-related content to the user, such asfood-related videos, cooking instructions, online articles, socialmedia, recipes and other information associate with food. The contentprovider 154 may include a link in the online content to the recipeserver 140 and vendor system 152, allowing the user to access a recipeassociated with the content, and purchase associated ingredients or mealkits for delivery.

In various embodiments, the recipe server 140 provides various recipebrowsing, selection and configuration options. For example, the recipeserver 140 may recommend recipes based on available ingredientsidentified by the user or tracked by the system 100, such as through asmart appliance 134 or based on an order history from a vendor system152. The user may also manually enter a recipe to the recipe server 140through the client application 132. In various embodiments, the recipeserver 140 and/or adaptive cooking appliance 110 are configured toconvert the recipe to oven-specific cooking instructions, includingoptimized food preparation instructions for the user and cooking logicfor controlling the adaptive cooking appliance 110. In one embodiment,the recipe and cooking logic may be configured for accelerated cookingon the adaptive cooking appliance 110, using real-time feedback from oneor more temperature probes to shorten the cooking time as compared toconventional cooking devices. In one embodiment, the recipe server alsofacilitates an online community allowing users to share and developrecipes and other user generated content.

FIG. 2 illustrates functional components of an adaptive cookingappliance and related systems, in accordance with various embodiments.The adaptive cooking appliance 200 may include cooking/feedbackcomponents 210, a controller 220, a memory 230, communications interface240, user interface components 250 and a power source 260. Thecooking/feedback components 210 may include one or more heating/coolingelements 212, a camera 214 or other machine vision components, one ormore probes 216 (e.g., one or more wired, wireless or hybridwired/wireless temperature probes as described herein), and a pluralityof sensors 218 (e.g., temperature sensor, accelerometer in a probe,acoustic sensor).

The controller 220 controls the operation of cooking appliance 200,including executing various functional components, such as thecomponents represented in memory 230. For example, the memory 230 canstore program instructions for execution by the controller 220, whichmay include an appliance operating system 232, user interface logic 234and a cooking engine 270. The cooking engine 270 controls thecooking/feedback components 210 through cooking logic to implement arecipe. In various embodiments, data storage 276 stores configuration,recipe, cooking logic, food characterizations, and system information,including image files or video files captured by the camera 214.

The camera 214 may include one or more optical or thermal cameras, orother machine vision device, providing digital representations of theinside of the cooking appliance 200. In one embodiment, the camera 214in conjunction with a display provides a virtual window to the inside ofthe chamber of the cooking appliance 200, which may be windowless. Inone embodiment, the camera includes a fish eye lens. In variousembodiments, the camera streams images to a display on the adaptivecooking appliance (e.g., user interface components 250), to a clientapplication 282 executing on a user device 280 (through communicationsinterface 240) or to cooking engine 270 for analysis during cooking. Thecamera 214 can serve as a food package label scanner that configures thecooking appliance 200 by recognizing a machine-readable optical label ofthe food packages. In some embodiments, the camera 214 can provide thecooking engine 270 with a stream of images, which can be analyzed forproviding feedback during execution of the cooking logic (e.g., tomonitor a level of doneness). In several embodiments, the camera 214includes a light source which can illuminate the interior of the cookingappliance 200 such that the camera 214 can capture an image of the foodsubstance therein.

In one embodiment, the probe(s) 216 may include a temperature probe thatis inserted into an edible substance to take temperature readings of theedible substance during cooking. For example, the temperature probe canbe a multipoint temperature probe sending multiple streams (e.g.,respectively corresponding to points along the length of the temperatureprobe) of temperature readings to the cooking engine 270, before, duringand after cooking. In several embodiments, the temperature probe may becommunicably coupled to the components of the adaptive cookingappliance, such as through a wired and/or wireless connection, which areadapted to receive one or more signals corresponding to the temperatureand other sensor readings from the temperature probe. The cooking engine270 can receive one or more continuous feeds of temperature and othersensor readings from the temperature probe 216 via the communicationsinterface 240. In these embodiments, the cooking engine 270 candetermine the temperature readings and other measured information byanalyzing/decoding the received signals. The adaptive cooking appliancecan execute a heat adjustment algorithm that is dynamically controlledby the cooking engine 270 in response to the changes in the temperatureand other sensor readings from the continuous feeds.

When the adaptive cooking appliance 200 is used to cook an ediblesubstance, cooking logic corresponding to a recipe is executed tocontrol the cooking process. The cooking logic may include a heatingalgorithm that specifies the heat adjustments for the cooking engine toexecute during cooking in response to temperature sensed by thetemperature probe. In several embodiments, the cooking engine 270 isconfigured to receive temperature signals from multiple temperaturesensors on the wireless temperature probe and detect a desiredtemperature measurement location (e.g., center of thickness, location oflowest temperature) of the edible substance such that the cooking engine270 can accurately assign a stream of temperature readings ascorresponding to the edible substance. This enables the cooking engineto monitor the temperature gradients at different portions of the ediblesubstance and thus enables precise cooking methodologies. In oneexample, the computing device can detect a center of thickness (or othertemperature measurement location, such as a location corresponding to alowest temperature) of the edible substance based on an insertion angleand/or an insertion depth of the temperature probe 216 as measured bythe readings received from the feeds of one or more sensors thereon.

In another example, the exertion angle and/or the insertion depth of thetemperature probe 216 is specified by the heating recipe, and thecomputing device detects the depth of insertion and angle of thetemperature probe. The user may then be prompted to correct thetemperature probe insertion as needed. In some embodiments, a display ofthe cooking appliance (or display of a user device running a clientapplication or another display) can present guidelines for suggestedinsertion location, insertion angle and insertion depth to the user,according to stored recipe specifications. In other embodiments, theheating recipe may be adjusted based on the detected exertion angleand/or insertion depth of the temperature probe 216. A manual adjustmentto the heating recipe may be entered by the user in response to a promptnotifying the user of the incorrect probe position. The computing devicemay be programmed to dynamically adjust the heating recipe in responseto the incorrect probe position to avoid over or undercooking the ediblesubstance. For example, a slower or faster heating recipe may beinitiated depending on a detected reliability of the sensor feedback inview of how the user has inserted the temperature probe.

In some embodiments, the adaptive cooking appliance 200 or user device280 may provide the user with instructions, graphics and/or video onproper temperature probe insertion to guide the user. The temperatureprobe itself can include insertion aids, such as a depth stopper orangle indicia. Feedback on the user's insertion of the probe can beprovided through a display on the adaptive cooking appliance 200 or userdevice 280. In various embodiments, the adaptive cooking appliance 200receives sensor feedback from the probe and provides the user withiterative feedback based on the sensor input. For example, anaccelerometer can provide feedback on the angle of insertion, multipletemperature sensors can provide feedback on the insertion depth andposition, and acoustic sensors can provide feedback on proximity of thetemperature probe to a bone of the edible substance.

A temperature probe 216 can extract (e.g., harvest) power from the powersupply 260, for example, by harvesting power from capacitive coupling.In turn, the temperature probe 216 can utilize the harvested power togenerate an electrical signal, an audio signal, a radiofrequency signal,an inductive coupling signal, and/or a capacitive coupling signal to thecommunication interface 240 of the adaptive cooking appliance. Forexample, the signal can be generated using one or more passiveelectronic components that produce different signals in response toreceiving electrical power at different temperature ranges. In oneembodiment, the probe includes 3 or more temperature sensors and isconfigured for use in temperature gradient detection.

The communications interface 240 facilitates communication between thecooking appliance 200, temperature probes and other external computingdevices. For example, the communications interface 240 can enable Wi-Fi(e.g., 802.11) or Bluetooth connections between the cooking appliance200 and one or more local devices such as wireless temperature probes,the user device 280 or a wireless router providing network access to aremote server 290, such as through the Internet. The communicationsinterface 240 may also enable a physical connection between the cookingappliance 200 and one or more local devices such as a temperature probevia a physical connection. In various embodiments, the communicationsinterface 240 can include other wired and wireless communicationscomponents facilitating direct or indirect communications between thecooking appliance 200 and another device. In turn, the cooking appliancecan have access to a cloud service over the Internet connection.

The user interface components 250 may include a touchpad display, akeypad, one or more buttons and other input/output components (e.g., aknob or dial for scrolling through menu and recipe options) to enable auser to directly interact with the functional components of the cookingappliance 200. For example, the display can present images from thecamera 214 or feedback from a temperature probe. The display can alsopresent a user interface implemented by the controller 220 and userinterface logic 234. Input components can include a touch panel overlaidwith a display (e.g., collectively as a touchscreen display). In someembodiments, the input component is one or more mechanical buttons. Insome embodiments, the output component includes a speaker or one or moreexternal lights.

The cooking appliance 200 can implement an adaptive cooking engine 274,a data store 276 and a recipe library 278. In some embodiments, theadaptive cooking engine 274 can execute cooking logic to analyzefeedback components such as an image from the camera 214, one or moretemperature probes 216, and sensors 218. For example, an ovenconfiguration such as the position of shelves within the oven or theoven door being open or closed can be determined through feedback fromone or more sensors 218 or feedback from the camera 214. In someembodiments, the sensors 218 may include one or more of a plurality oftemperature sensors, accelerometers, acoustic sensors, power outputsensors, ambient light sensors, door open sensors, rack placementsensors and other sensors providing feedback during cooking operations.In one embodiment, images from the camera 214 may be analyzed todynamically adjust the cooking algorithm to mitigate or substantiallyeliminate potential blackening and/or smoke generated from overcookedmeat fats. In another embodiment, the image from a camera may beilluminated by a specific color of a specific light source when facingtoward an interior of the cooking appliance 200.

In some embodiments, the adaptive cooking engine 275 is configured toanalyze an image from the camera to determine whether a machine-readableoptical label is within the image. For example, the adaptive cookingengine 274 can be configured to select a recipe from the recipe library278 based on the machine-readable optical label and implementcorresponding cooking logic. In some embodiments, the communicationsinterface 240 is configured to send a message to the user 280 to confirmthe automatically selected recipe. In some embodiments, the adaptivecooking engine 274 is configured to present the recipe to the user on alocal display and to receive confirmation via a local input componentwhen the recipe is displayed. In response to the selection of therecipe, the adaptive cooking engine can execute cooking logic bycontrolling the heating elements according to the heating algorithm,while receiving real-time feedback from one or more temperature probes.

The user device 280, such as a mobile device, can connect to theadaptive cooking appliance 200 through the user interface components250. For example, the user device 280 (e.g., a computer or a mobiledevice) can configure the cooking appliance 200 in real time throughuser interface logic 234. In one example, the user can select a recipevia the client application 282 running on the user device 280, and theclient application 282 can communicate through the user interface logic234 to cause the cooking appliance 200 to execute the correspondingcooking logic. The client application 282 also includes an interfacewith the cooking appliance 200, which may include casting the recipe forany meal the user buys or any recipe the user saves to the cookingappliance 200, making the cooking appliance ready to cook the recipewith the push of a button. The communications interface 240 can alsoenable the cooking appliance 200 to access network services, such ascloud services available from recipe server 290, to facilitate executionof cooking logic from the recipe database 292.

The power source 260 provides the power necessary to operate thephysical components of the cooking appliance 200. For example, the powersource 260 can convert alternating current (AC) power to direct current(DC) power for the physical components. In some embodiments, the powersource 260 can run a first powertrain to heating elements 212 and asecond powertrain to the other components.

Components (e.g., physical or functional) associated with the cookingappliance 200 can be implemented as devices, modules, circuitry,firmware, software, or other functional instructions. For example, thefunctional components can be implemented across one or more componentsin the form of special-purpose circuitry, in the form of one or moreappropriately programmed processors, a single board chip, a fieldprogrammable gate array, a network-capable computing device, a virtualmachine, a cloud computing environment, or any combination thereof. Forexample, the functional components described can be implemented asinstructions on a tangible storage memory capable of being executed by aprocessor or other integrated circuit chip. The tangible storage memorymay be volatile or non-volatile memory. In some embodiments, thevolatile memory may be considered “non-transitory” in the sense that itis not a transitory signal. Memory space and storages described in thefigures can be implemented with the tangible storage memory as well,including volatile or non-volatile memory.

Each of the components may operate individually and independently ofother components. Some or all of the components may be executed on thesame host device or on separate devices. The separate devices can becoupled through one or more communication channels (e.g., wireless orwired channel) to coordinate their operations. Some or all of thecomponents may be combined as one component. A single component may bedivided into sub-components, each sub-component performing separatemethod step or method steps of the single component.

In some embodiments, at least some of the components share access to amemory space. For example, one component may access data accessed by ortransformed by another component. The components may be considered“coupled” to one another if they share a physical connection or avirtual connection, directly or indirectly, allowing data accessed ormodified by one component to be accessed in another component. In someembodiments, at least some of the components can be upgraded or modifiedremotely (e.g., by reconfiguring executable instructions that implementsa portion of the functional components). The systems, engines, ordevices described herein may include additional, fewer, or differentcomponents for various applications.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are block diagrams illustrating an adaptive cookingapparatus, temperature probe, and user device, in accordance withvarious embodiments. In one embodiment, the cooking appliance 300 candynamically adjust the cooking logic during operation by analyzingtemperature readings and other sensor data received from one or moretemperature probes 330, and/or images received from a camera 318. Thecooking appliance 300 can use the camera 318, for example, to determineseveral parameters prior to or while cooking food matter, which include,but are not limited to: food geometry and thickness, surface texturechanges, level of browning or searing, presence of burn, food shrinkage,expansion or distortion, seepage of liquids, presence of smoke, presenceof steam, liquid boiling, or any combination thereof. The camera mayalso be used for safety by detecting unsafe events such as the presenceof smoke detection, fire detection, or extreme temperature, which maytrigger an alarm and shutoff the oven.

In various embodiments, a user device 340 runs a client application 342that includes an interface to the cooking appliance 300, providingaccess to information such as temperature probe 330 and sensor feedback,and an image of the meal while cooking. This allows the user to view themeal in real time with real-time diagnostic information about thecooking progress.

The cooking appliance 300, in accordance with various embodiments, caninclude a chamber 302 having a door 306. At least one cooking platform310 is disposed inside the chamber 302. The cooking platform 310 can bea tray, a rack, or any combination thereof. The chamber 302 can be linedwith one or more heating elements 314 (e.g., a heating element 314A, aheating element 314B, etc., collectively as the “heating elements 314”).Each of heating elements 314 can include a wavelength controllablefilament assembly. The wavelength controllable filament assembly iscapable of independently adjusting an emission frequency/wavelength,emission power, and/or emission signal pattern in response to a commandfrom a computing device of the cooking appliance 300. In variousembodiments, the wavelength options allow for various cooking modesdirected to (from shortest wavelength to longest wavelength): directmode (surface of edible substance), direct mode (internal cooking ofedible substance), pan mode, oven mode, depending on the wavelengthused. In one embodiment, two wavelengths may be implemented to cook theexterior and interior of food independently, substantially ensuring thedesired sear and internal temperature with use of probe technology.

In several embodiments, the chamber 302 is windowless. That is, thechamber 302, including the door 306, is enclosed without any transparent(and/or semitransparent) parts when the door 306 is closed. For example,the chamber 302 can be sealed within a metal enclosure when the door 306is closed, and one or more cameras, such as camera 318, can be arrangedto image an interior portion of the chamber 302 during operation. Insome embodiments, the camera 318 is attached to the door 306. Forexample, the camera 318 can face inward toward the interior of thechamber 302 when the door 306 is closed and upward when the door 306 isopened as illustrated. The camera 318 can be attached to the door 306 orproximate (e.g., within three inches) to the door 306 to enable easycleaning, convenient scanning of labels, privacy, heat damage avoidance,and other visual feedback.

In several embodiments, the heating elements 314 include one or morewavelength-controllable filament assemblies at one or more locations inthe chamber. In some embodiments, each of the one or morewavelength-controllable filament assemblies is capable of independentlyadjusting its emission frequency (e.g., peak emission frequency) and/orits emission power. For example, the peak emission frequency of thewavelength controllable filament assemblies can be tuned within a broadband range (e.g., from 20 terahertz to 500 terahertz). Differentfrequencies can correspond to different penetration depth of heating thefood substances.

The heating elements can be controlled to have varying power, either byusing a rapidly switching pulse width modulation (PWM)-like electronicsby having a relay-like control that turns on and off relatively quicklycompared to the thermal inertia of the heating filament itself. Thechange in peak emission frequency can be directly correlated with theamount of power delivered into the heating element. More powercorrelates to higher peak emission frequency. In some cases, the cookingappliance 300 can hold the power constant while lowering the peakemission frequency by activating more heating elements, each at a lowerpower. The cooking appliance 300 can independently control peak emissionfrequencies of the filament assemblies and power them by driving thesefilament assemblies individually. In some embodiments, the heatingelements 314 are arranged to target a plurality of cooking zones withinthe chamber 302 of cooking appliance 300, allowing multiple food itemsto be cooked at the same time with different heating algorithms.

In some embodiments, a display is provided, such as display 322 attachedto the door 306 or a display at another location, such as on the top ofthe oven. The display 322 can be a touchscreen display. The display 322can be attached to an exterior of the chamber 302 on an opposite side ofthe door 306 from the camera 318. The display 322 can be configured todisplay a real-time image or a real-time video of the interior of thechamber captured by and/or streamed from the camera 318, and providefeedback from the temperature probe 330. In another embodiment, theimage from the camera 318 is streamed to the user device 340 across awireless connection, such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

In various embodiments, the cooking appliance 300 includes one or morewireless communications components, such as exterior wireless components352 and interior wireless components 354, facilitating communicationsbetween the cooking appliance 300 and one or more temperature probes 330(e.g., a wireless temperature probe or a hybrid wired/wirelesstemperature probe as illustrated) and user devices 340. Wirelesscommunications may be facilitated using one or more of radio frequencycommunications, such as Wi-Fi, RFID or Bluetooth, audio communications,infrared communications, visible light, and other wirelesscommunications technologies. In one embodiment, the temperature probe330 is operable to communicate sensor feedback (e.g., a temperaturemeasurement from sensors in the temperature probe 330, a detected anglefrom an accelerometer, acoustic sensor feedback, etc.) to the cookingappliance 300 throughout the cooking process, including food preparationoutside of the chamber 302 (as illustrated in FIG. 3B), placement of thefood tray in the chamber 302, cooking the food in the cooking apparatus300, and removal of the food from the cooking apparatus after cooking toallow the food to rest. In various embodiments, the wireless components352 and 354 are arranged to provide location information to the cookingappliance 300 on the position of the temperature probe with respect tothe chamber 302, such as through time of flight algorithm. In oneembodiment, the temperature probe 330 emits an audio noise (e.g., a beepor chirp) which is received by one or more wireless components 354(e.g., an audio sensor) to estimate the position of the temperatureprobe 330 with respect to the wireless components 354 and chamber 302.In the illustrated embodiment, the temperature probe 330 is a hybridwired/wireless temperature probe, including a wireless communicationscomponents and wired communications components 331. In alternateembodiments, the temperature probe 330 may be wired temperature probe ora wireless temperature probe.

FIGS. 3C and 3D illustrate further embodiments of a temperature probe inan interior of a cooking chamber in accordance with one or moreembodiments. In several embodiments, a connection interface 376 isconfigured to mechanically couple to a portion of a food tray 384 and tocommunicate with a relay interface 390 of the food tray 384. The foodtray 384 can be a removable component of the cooking appliance 370Aand/or 370B. The food tray 384 can mechanically attach to at least aportion of the temperature probe 380 and to receive temperature readingsignals from the temperature probe 380. In some embodiments, theconnection interface 376 can provide electrical power to the food tray384, which can be relayed to the temperature probe 380. The temperatureprobe 380 can be a removable component that detaches and/or re-attachesto the food tray. In one example, the connection interface 376 includesa magnet or a magnetizable material (e.g., ferromagnetic material) tomechanically couple with a portion of the food tray 384. In otherexamples, the connection interface 376 includes a click-in mechanism, abutton, a pin, a hook, a clip, or any combination thereof, to removablyattach to the food tray 384.

The relay interface 390 can include a magnet or a magnetizable material(e.g., ferromagnetic material) to mechanically couple with a portion ofthe connection interface 376 and/or a portion of the temperature probe380. In other examples, the relay interface 390 includes a click-inmechanism, a button, a pin, a hook, a clip, or any combination thereof,to removably attach to a portion of the connection interface 376 and/ora portion of the temperature probe 380. In some embodiments, the relayinterface 390 includes at least two portions. One portion of the relayinterface 390 can couple (e.g., mechanically and/or electrically) to thetemperature probe 380. One portion of the relay interface 390 can couple(e.g., mechanically and/or electrically) to the connection interface376. In one embodiment, the temperature probe 380 includes wirelesscommunications components for communicating wirelessly with the cookingappliance 370A and/or 370B and/or other sensors such as audio sensors oran accelerometer as disclosed herein.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method 400 of operating a cookingappliance (e.g., the cooking appliance 300, the cooking appliance 110,and/or the cooking appliance 200) to cook an edible substance, inaccordance with various embodiments. At step 402, the cooking appliancereceives a recipe selection from the user, which may be selected from alocal recipe library, selected from a recipe server over acommunications network, entered by the user, or received through anothermode of communications. In one embodiment, the user selects the recipeby scanning (e.g., optically scanning or near-field-based) a packagingof the edible substance. The interactive user interface can beimplemented on a touchscreen of the cooking appliance. The interactiveuser interface can be implemented on a mobile device (e.g., smart phoneor electronic tablet) having a network connection with the cookingappliance. In other embodiments, the recipe and cooking logic can beautomatically available on the cooking appliance through a subscriptionor vendor relationship.

At step 404, the cooking engine (e.g., via a processor or a controller)tracks data from one or more wireless temperature probes during foodpreparation outside the cooking appliance. The tracked data may includeposition data of the wireless temperature probe, angle and motion data,temperature data, and other data generated by sensors or electronics onthe wireless temperature probe. In various embodiments, the positiondata may be determined by audio positioning components embodied in thewireless temperature probe and disposed within the cooking appliance totransmit and receive audio signals and determine a time of flight of theaudio signal to each audio sensor. For example, in one embodiment thewireless temperature probe may include a speaker (e.g., a MEMs speakeror other audio transducer) that generates an audio pulse or beep, whichmay be received by two or more audio sensors (e.g., a MEMs microphone orother audio sensor) disposed at known locations within the cookingappliance. The cooking appliance may be operable to analyze the audiosignals received by the audio sensors to determine the distance from thespeaker to each audio sensor. In one embodiment, the cooking applianceutilizes known geometry and configuration (e.g., rack height) of thecooking appliance to determine the precise location of the wirelesstemperature probe. In another embodiment, the location of the wirelesstemperature probe is determined using a wireless temperature probe thatincludes one or more audio sensors for detecting audio signals generatedby speakers disposed at known locations in the cooking appliance.

In some embodiments, an accelerometer (e.g., a low power MEMsaccelerometer) is provided to sense movement and the angle of insertionof the wireless temperature probe. The sensor feedback data may alsoinclude sensed temperature from a plurality (e.g., 3) of temperaturesensors to sense air temperature and changes in the sensed temperatureas each sensor is inserted into an edible substance.

In various embodiments, other sensors and technologies may be used totrack the wireless temperature probe. For example, other wirelesspositioning technologies are known such as positioning using radiofrequency, visible light and infrared components. As another example,the wireless temperature probe may also include acoustic feedbackcomponents (e.g., piezoelectric transducer) for generating and sensingacoustic signals to detect properties of the edible substance (e.g.,thickness, proximity to a bone, placement of probe in a fat pocket).

As step 406 the cooking appliance analyzes the received sensor data todetermine whether the wireless temperature probe has been properlyinserted into a prepared edible substance and provides the user withfeedback indicating corrections, if any, that should be made for optimalcooking results. In one embodiment, the insertion depth is determined bycomparing temperature sensor data with the baseline air temperature todetermine the location of each sensor after insertion. If the cookingengine determines that one of the temperature sensors is sensing the airtemperature as opposed to sensing the temperature of the ediblesubstance (e.g., by comparing the current sensed temperature to thebaseline air temperature), then a notification is provided to the userto correct the depth of the wireless temperature probe (e.g., by furtherinserting the wireless temperature probe into the edible substance).

The angle of the wireless temperature probe may be determined by sensingthe feedback data from the accelerometer disposed on the wirelesstemperature probe. If the cooking engine determines that the angle isoutside of an acceptable range (e.g., by detecting the impact of gravityon the accelerometer after the wireless temperature probe is inserted),then a notification is provided to the user to correct the angle ofinsertion.

The cooking engine may also analyze the location of the inserted probe,for example, through acoustic feedback. Through acoustic feedback, theproperties of the edible substance may be determined. If the cookingappliance determines that the wireless temperature probe was insertedinto an improper location of the edible substance (e.g., if the probe istouching a bone or fat pocket), then a notification is provided to theuser to remove the wireless temperature probe and reinsert the wirelesstemperature probe in a new suggested location.

In step 408, the cooking appliance tracks the position of the wirelesstemperature probes and detects placement of the food tray in the cookingappliance. The position of the food tray may be determined, for example,by analyzing camera sensor data, audio positioning data, and othersensor data available in the cooking appliance. In one embodiment, thewireless temperature probe further includes wired communicationcomponents, including a cable and connector, and the cooking appliancefurther detects a physical coupling with the wireless temperature probe.

In step 410, the cooking engine analyzes available sensor data todetermine whether each wireless temperature probe is properly insertedinto an edible substance within the cooking appliance. The electroniccomponents of the wireless temperature probe may be at risk of damage ifexposed directly to extreme heat inside the cooking appliance. Invarious embodiments, the electronic components may be insulated duringcooking by the edible substance if properly inserted into the ediblesubstance. In one embodiment, the cooking appliance tests the wirelesstemperature probe depth by flashing the heating elements on and off anddetecting changes in sensor feedback. If a temperature sensor is sensingair inside the cooking appliance (i.e., the sensor has not been insertedinto the edible substance), then the temperature sensor will exhibitgreater sensitivity to the heating elements than temperature sensorssensing the temperature of the edible substance. By flashing the heatingelements on and off, sufficient heat is generated to test the insertiondepth of the wireless temperature sensor probe, without risking exposureof the electronic components to extreme heat. If one or more of thewireless sensor probes has been improperly inserted, the cooking enginemay suspend cooking and provide the user with feedback to correct theerrors. In one embodiment, the cooking engine suspends cooking until theuser either corrects the insertion error or overrides the cookingengine's determination.

In step 412, the cooking engine instantiates cooking logic including aheat adjustment algorithm based on the selected recipe from thedatabase. The cooking appliance can monitor the sensors during thecooking process, including sensors in the wireless temperature probe, acamera for visual/image feedback, and other sensors available to thecooking appliance. The user may receive sensor feedback, including imagedata, through the user device, allowing the user to monitor the cookingand provide feedback if desired.

At step 414, the food is removed from the cooking appliance aftercooking. The cooking appliance continues to monitor the wirelesstemperature probe sensor data while the food rests, and may providecontinuous feedback to the user via the user interface or user deviceand notify the user when cooking is complete.

In various embodiments, the recipe server and compiler are designed toincrease the cooking speed for various foods utilizing feedback from oneor more wireless temperature probes. In one embodiment, cooking rangesand heating algorithms are developed on the front end for foodcharacterizations and other recipe components. Each component has acooking range that can be adjusted depending on the outcome desired bythe user, such as speed or best flavor. For any recipe, ingredientsinclude a food characterization, a food type and typical cookingparameters, including wireless temperature probe sensor feedbackparameters. A recipe may be compared to similar recipes and may bemodified to result in faster cooking, which may include food preparation(such as the portion size to cut meat) and a heating profile algorithmto adjust the cooking time. User configurable parameters may be selectedto adjust the factors taken into consideration in selecting the speedcooking option. In one embodiment, the recipe input is modified inaccordance with known food categorizations and further provided as aninput to a heating algorithm.

In several embodiments, the computing device is configured to detect adesired temperature measurement location (e.g., center of ediblesubstance, location of lowest temperature), of the edible substance suchthat the computing device can accurately assign a stream of temperaturereadings as corresponding to the edible substance. This enables thecomputing device to monitor the temperature gradients at differentportions of the edible substance and thus enables precise cookingmethodologies. In one example, the computing device can detect thecenter of the edible substance based on user input of an insertion angleand/or an insertion depth of the wireless temperature probe and/or thetemperature readings from the continuous feeds. In another example, theexertion angle and/or the insertion depth of the wireless temperatureprobe is specified by the heating recipe. In some embodiments, a displayof the cooking appliance can present the instruction to the user on theproper insertion angle, location and depth.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are examples of temperature probes that monitortemperatures inside an edible substance to provide temperature feedbackto a cooking appliance, in accordance with various embodiments.Referring to FIG. 5A, a wireless temperature probe 500A includes a probebody 502 and an antenna 528A configured to facilitate communication oftemperature readings from temperature sensing elements 522 along theprobe body 502 to the cooking appliance. In some embodiments, theantenna 528 can also deliver power to the temperature sensing elements522 through inductive coupling or other techniques. The temperaturesensing elements 522 are configured to measure temperature readings andcommunicate the temperature readings via a wireless interface, such asthrough wireless communication components 526. For example, the wirelesscommunication components 526 can generate a radiofrequency (RF) signal,an inductive coupling signal, a capacitive coupling signal, an audio orvibratory signal, an optical signal, or any combination thereof. Thetemperature probe 500 may also include one or more optional sensors 528,such as an accelerometer to sense an angle of insertion of thetemperature probe 500 into an edible substance, an acoustic transducerand sensor for detecting properties of the edible substance or locationof the temperature probe, and other sensors. It will be appreciated thatthe arrangement of components in FIG. 5 , such as the location of thewireless communication components 526 and the sensors 528, is merely oneexample and that components may be disposed at other locations in thetemperature probe in accordance with the present disclosure.

In several embodiments, the temperature probe 500 includes an insertionaid 536 (e.g., a disc, a truncated prism, a cylinder, etc.). Theinsertion aid 536 can surround the probe body 502. In severalembodiments, the insertion aid 536 can slide along the probe body 502 toadjust the depth of insertion. In some embodiments, the insertion aid536 may have holes or hollowed out portions to reduce the weight of theinsertion aid 536. The insertion aid 536, the probe body 502, thetemperature sensing elements 522, and/or other components of thetemperature probe 500 can be heat resistant. For example, in someembodiments these components can comprise or consist of one or more heatresistant materials capable of withstanding temperatures to 1000Fahrenheit. In another example, these components can comprise or consistof one or more heat resistant materials capable of withstandingtemperatures below 500 Fahrenheit.

In some embodiments, the electronic components embodied in the wirelesstemperature probe 500A are further protected through proper insertionsof the electronic components into the edible substance. The wirelesstemperature probe 500A includes the insertion aid 536 to help guide theuser to a proper insertion depth. The wireless temperature probeinsertion depth may also be tested in the cooking appliance by flashingheating elements on and off to detect whether a temperature sensingelement is sensing air temperature or the temperature of the ediblesubstance before fully heating the cooking appliance. In one embodiment,the wireless probe 500 includes a temperature sensing element 522 thatis located closest to the insertion guide 536 (and furthest from thepointy end 546) at a location 520 along the length of the probe. Theelectronic components may be arranged below the location 520 to insulatethe components with the edible substance when properly inserted. In thisembodiment, if the cooking appliance determines that none of thetemperature sensing elements 522 are sensing air temperature, then theelectronics components may be further insulated by the edible substance.For sufficient protection, each temperature sensing element may beinserted a certain depth below the surface of the edible substance (in a“safe zone”). In various embodiments, the cooking appliance is adaptedto detect whether a temperature sensing element 522 or other sensors(e.g., an accelerometer) is above the safe zone (i.e., in a shallow zonewhere the electronics continue to be at risk for heat damage) based ontemperature sensing element feedback from heat element flashing. In oneembodiment, the distance between the hilt and the first sensor issufficient to maintain the first sensor below the surface of the ediblesubstance.

In some embodiments, the insertion aid 536 includes at least oneinsertion angle reference that enables a user to determine whether theprobe body is inserted at a known angle. In some embodiments, theinsertion aid includes at least one insertion depth reference thatenable a user to determine how deep the probe body 502 has been insertedinto an edible substance or a depth (e.g., thickness) of a top surfaceof the edible substance when the probe body is inserted all the waythrough the edible substance. The insertion aid 536 can include astopper structure (e.g., a disc structure or hilt) surrounding the probebody and adjacent to the handle. The stopper structure can prevent thetemperature probe 500 from being inserted beyond a certain depth. Insome embodiments, the probe body 502 includes a handle 540 on an endopposite from a sharp end 546. In some embodiments, the probe body 502is length adjustable.

Referring to FIG. 5B, an example of a wired temperature probe 500B isillustrated, in accordance with various embodiments. The temperatureprobe 500B may include similar components as illustrated wirelesstemperature probe 500A, including optional wireless communicationscomponents 526 and an antenna 528B, which may be integrated into thehandle 540 or a connection cable 560. The cable 560 may include an outersheath, an insulation layer, and an inner wire in one embodiment. Forexample, the sheath can be a metal braided sheath (e.g., an iron braidedsheath or a steel braided sheath). In another example, the sheath is aheat resistant polyamine-based sheath or a polyamide sheath. Theinsulation layer can be a heat resistant insulation between the innerwire and the sheath. The heat resistant insulation can comprise a metaloxide powder (e.g., magnesium oxide powder), silicon, glass fiber, orany combination thereof. In various embodiments, a flexible cable isprovided that resists movement of the probe during cooking.

The cable 560 is operable to communicate temperature readings fromtemperature sensors 522 along the probe body 502. In some embodiments,the cable 560 can also deliver power to the electrical components of thetemperature probe 500B, including the temperature sensors 522, wirelesscommunications components 526 and other sensing components 528. In oneembodiment, the temperature sensors 522 are configured to measure thetemperature readings and communicate the temperature readings via thecable in analog or digital form.

In some embodiments, the temperature probe 500B includes an attachmentmechanism 570 coupled to an end of the cable 560 opposite from the probebody 502. The attachment mechanism 570 can be removably attachable tothe cooking appliance, such as through a cooking tray. In someembodiments, the attachment mechanism 570 is adapted to electricallycouple to the cooking appliance (e.g., to communicate or to receivepower). In some embodiments, the attachment mechanism 570 includes acapacitive coupler (e.g., antenna) or an inductive coupler (e.g., coil)to facilitate one or more forms of near field communication. The trayattachment mechanism 570 can include a temperature resistant magnet or aclip, a hook, a click in button, a clamp, an anchor, or any combinationthereof, for attachment or mechanical coupling.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are examples of a wireless temperature probe 600 thatmonitors temperatures inside an edible substance to provide temperaturefeedback to a cooking engine, in accordance with various embodiments.The wireless temperature probe 600 includes a handle 602, a body 604 anda hilt 606, to aid in the proper insertion depth of the probe body 604into an edible substance 640. The wireless temperature probe 600 mayalso include one or more optional fins 608 extending along a portion ofthe length of the body 604 to further aid in accurate temperaturemeasurement.

The wireless temperature probe 600 includes electronic components 620,which may be arrange on a printed circuit board or other substratewithin the body 604. The electronic components 620 include a pluralityof temperature sensing elements 622 distributed along the length of thebody 604 to provide multi-depth temperature sensing, a power source 624for powering the electronic components, a microcontroller 626 forcontrolling the operation of the electronic components 620, an optionalaccelerometer 628 for detecting insertion angle and movement of thewireless temperature probe, for example, and wireless components 630.The wireless components 630 are coupled to an antenna 632 thatfacilitates wireless communications with the cooking apparatus.

In one embodiment, the electronic components are arranged in the body604 such that the heat sensitive electronic components are inserted intothe edible substance 640 when the wireless temperature probe 600 isproperly inserted. FIG. 6B illustrates the wireless temperature probe600 inserted into an edible substance 640 at an improper (shallow)depth. As illustrated, some of the electronic components in FIG. 6B areexposed to the heat of the cooking apparatus due to the improperinsertion depth. The user may utilize the hilt 606 to aid in properinsertion depth (as illustrated in FIG. 6A). Further, in someembodiments, the cooking appliance may test the proper depth by flashingheating elements on and off before heating the cooking apparatus to thecooking temperature. In this example, the temperature sensing element622A of FIG. 6B is exposed to the air and will detect the flashingheating elements with greater sensitivity than the remaining temperaturesensing elements 622. By arranging the electronics components at furtherinsertions depths on the probe body 604, additional protection forelectronic components is realized.

Referring to FIG. 6C, an example of a temperature probe 650 including aphysical communications connection with a cooking appliance isillustrated, in accordance with various embodiments. The temperatureprobe 650 may include similar components as illustrated in FIGS. 6A and6B, with wired communications components 652 in place of the wirelesscommunications components 630 and antenna 632. The wired communicationscomponents 652 provide communications across a wire 654, which may becoupled to a cooking appliance via a cable 656. Referring to FIG. 6D, anexample of a temperature probe 660 including a hybrid wired/wirelesscommunications configuration is illustrated, incorporating both wirelessand wired communications components.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method 700 of operating a cookingappliance (e.g., the cooking appliance 110, the cooking appliance 200,and the cooking appliance 300) to cook a food substance utilizingtemperature feedback and/or other sensor feedback (e.g., feedback froman accelerometer and/or acoustic sensor) from a temperature probe, inaccordance with various embodiments. At step 702, a computing device inthe cooking appliance identifies a cooking recipe in a computer memory.The cooking recipe can specify a heat adjustment algorithm.

At step 704, the computing device can receive analog or digital feedsthat respectively correspond to sensors along a length of a temperatureprobe inserted into an edible substance. At step 706, the computingdevice can compute temperature readings from the sensor data feeds(e.g., analog or digital data feeds). In parallel to, before, or afterstep 706, the computing device can determine, at step 708, which of thefeeds corresponds to a desired temperature measurement location (e.g., acenter of the edible substance or location of lowest temperature). Atstep 710, the computing device can execute a heat adjustment algorithmby dynamically controlling and/or adjusting heating elements in thecooking appliance in response to changes to the temperature readingsrelative to the desired temperature measurement location of the ediblesubstance.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method 800 of operating a cookingappliance (e.g., the cooking appliance 110, the cooking appliance 200,and the cooking appliance 300) to cook an edible substance utilizing awireless temperature probe, in accordance with various embodiments. Atstep 802, the cooking appliance can identify a food profile of theedible substance from a database. For example, the cooking appliance canidentify the food profile by scanning (e.g., optically scanning ornear-field-based) a packaging of the edible substance prior to startingto heat (e.g., baking, broiling, toasting, searing, and roasting) theedible substance. For another example, the cooking appliance canidentify the food profile by receiving a user indication of the foodprofile via an interactive user interface. The interactive userinterface can be implemented on a touchscreen of the cooking appliance.The interactive user interface can be implemented on a mobile device(e.g., smart phone or electronic tablet) having a network connectionwith the cooking appliance.

At step 804, a computing device (e.g., a processor or a controller) ofthe cooking appliance can instantiate a heat adjustment algorithm basedon a cooking recipe from a database. For example, the computing devicecan identify one or more cooking recipes associated with the foodprofile and display the cooking recipes for user selection. Thecomputing device can then receive a user selection of at least one ofthe cooking recipes. The computing device can instantiate the heatadjustment algorithm based on the selected cooking recipe.

At step 806, the cooking appliance can monitor, via an optical sensor, asurface of an edible substance in a cooking chamber. At step 808, thecooking appliance can sear, via at least a first heating elementcontrolled by the computing device, the edible substance utilizingoptical feedback control based on the monitoring of the surface of theedible substance. For example, the computing device can set the cookingappliance to sear by tuning a peak emission wavelength of the firstheating element. For example, the heating concentration of longer peakemission wavelengths can penetrate the edible substance more.Accordingly, when searing, the computing device can shorten the peakemission wavelength of the heating elements.

When searing, higher-frequency and shorter peak emission wavelength isused. The power emission efficiency during the searing operation can bemore than 20 times the power emission efficiency of an oven running atconventional filament temperatures (e.g., a conventional nichrome oven),resulting in much higher heat transfer efficiency than in a conventionaloven. At this much higher power emission efficiency, various parts ofthe edible substance may not ever reach a balanced thermal equilibrium(e.g., heat is added to the surface of the edible substance at a fasterpace than the heat being thermally conducted away into the inner partsof the edible substance). As a result, when searing the surface of theedible substance, the internal parts of the edible substance may also beroasted.

At step 810, the cooking appliance can determine or approximate a depthcenter or other internal point of the edible substance via one or moremulti-point wireless temperature probes in communication with thecomputing device. In various embodiments, the depth center or otherinternal point can be determined or approximated by analyzingtemperature sensor data received from a multi-point wireless temperatureprobe in response to the heating elements (e.g., by flashing heatingelements on and off to test insertion depth or measuring response toadjustments to the peak emission wavelength).

At step 812, the cooking appliance can roast, via at least a secondheating element controlled by the computing device, the edible substancein the cooking chamber after the searing step is complete (e.g.,according to optical feedback). The first heating element and the secondheating element can be the same heating element or different heatingelements. Each of the heating elements can include one or more filamentassemblies capable of adjusting their peak emission wavelengths. Forexample, the computing device can set the cooking appliance to roast bytuning a peak emission wavelength of the second heating element.

When roasting, the computing device can configure the peak emissionwavelength of the second heating element to correspond with apenetration depth through the edible substance to the determined depthcenter. The computing device can proportionally adjust the peak emissionwavelength to a level that corresponds to the penetration depth. Thefood profile identified in step 802 can specify a depth adjustmentfunction. The depth adjustment function can map penetration depths topeak emission wavelengths. The computing device can thus proportionallyadjust the peak emission wavelength to correspond to the penetrationdepth according to the food profile/depth adjustment function.

While roasting, the computing device can tune the power driving theheating elements (e.g., the second heating element) based on temperaturefeedback control from a wireless temperature probe inserted into theedible substance to achieve a desired cooking outcome. For example, thecomputing device can monitor temperature readings from the wirelesstemperature probe via a radiofrequency (RF) wireless connection, a nearfield inductive or capacitive coupling connection or other wirelesscommunications link with the wireless temperature probe.

In various embodiments of the method 800, the cooking appliance sears(e.g., surface cooking utilizing high-power) before roasting. Forexample, roasting is performed with less power. In some embodiments,there are four large cooking areas with multiple heating elements. Dueto power limitation, it may be impractical to use all heating elementsat max power or shortest wavelength when searing. For example, thecooking appliance can have three heating elements on the top portion ofits inner chamber. The cooking appliance can run one or more of theheating elements on the top portion (e.g., at the same time or atdifferent intervals and sequences) to sear (e.g., to overcome the powerlimitation). When roasting, the cooking appliance can drive the heatingelements at lower power sequentially, or running all heating elements orall top portion heating elements at the same time, all which have alower filament temperature with longer wavelength as compared to whensearing.

Generally, driving heating elements to emit longer wavelengths cause theemitted power to penetrate deeper into food. However, the thermalgradient of the food can contribute to penetration as well. Very hotsurface can cause a relatively sharp temperature gradient from thesurface to the center of the food. A relatively lower temperature canhave even heating from all sides of the food. The feedback from thesensors of one or more wireless temperature probes is used to monitorthe temperatures at various depths of the food and drive adjustment ofthe heating algorithm accordingly.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2300 (e.g., a wireless temperature probe) incommunication with a cooking appliance 2304 (e.g., the cooking appliance110), in accordance with various embodiments. For example, the cookingappliance 2304 can include a remote signal generator circuit 2310 and aremote signal reader circuit 2312. The remote signal generator circuit2310 can generate an excitation signal at varying frequenciesperiodically such that a first antenna 2314 of the wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2300 can receive the excitation signal.

In this embodiment, a passive analog circuit 2318, coupled to the firstantenna 2314 and a temperature sensitive element 2322 forms a firstantenna assembly 2326 that is configured to receive signals generatedfrom the remote signal generator circuit 2310. The first antennaassembly 2326 is configured so that it receives the excitation signalswith different efficacy depending on the excitation signal's frequency.That is, the temperature sensitive element 2322 can change the resonantfrequency of the passive analog circuit 2318 depending on ambienttemperature. By configuring the first antenna assembly 2326 to have itsresonant frequency change with temperature, the first antenna assembly2326 is most effective at receiving energy when the signal generated bythe remote signal generator circuit 2310 matches the resonant frequencyof the first antenna assembly 2326.

At this point, it is sufficient for the remote signal reader circuit2312 to determine the temperature of the wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2300. The remote signal reader circuit 2312 canmeasure scattering parameters (S-parameters) from the wirelesstemperature measurement device 2300 to determine the most effectiveabsorbed frequency of the first antenna assembly 2326, which in turn,can yield the desired temperature reading from the wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2300. S-parameters (e.g., the elements of ascattering matrix or S-matrix) describe the electrical behavior oflinear electrical networks when undergoing various steady state stimuliby electrical signals.

Measuring the S-parameter from a transmitter may be relatively expensivemay lack reliability. The S-parameters are less reliable because itworks by detecting how much energy is absorbed by the resonant circuitin the first antenna assembly 2326. However, there are many ways forradio frequency energy to be absorbed. For example, different humidity,current geometry of the cooking vessel in question, proximity of humanbeings and other radiofrequency absorbing geometries.

To disambiguate absorption by environmental reasons or absorption by theresonant circuit, several embodiments of the wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2300 include an additional frequency multiplier 2330and a second antenna 2334. The frequency multiplier 2330 and the secondantenna 2334 to produce more reliable measurement for temperaturebecause the signal (e.g., indicative of a real-time temperature reading)transmitted back to the remote signal reader circuit 2312 would be outof band from the remote signal generator circuit 2310. Instead ofdetecting energy absorbed by the resonant circuit, the remote signalreader circuit 2312 can be configured to detect a peak second frequency,which is a multiple of the first frequency first absorbed by the firstantenna assembly 2326.

When the first frequency produced by the remote signal generator circuit2310 matches the resonance frequency of the first antenna assembly 2326,the energy absorption would be very efficient, causing the secondfrequency to be emitted with considerably higher strength. The remotesignal reader circuit 2312 can then use the relative strength of thesecond frequency to determine the temperature of the wirelesstemperature measurement device 2300.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device 2400 (e.g., a wirelesstemperature probe). The wireless temperature measurement device 2400 canreplace the wireless temperature measurement device 2300 of FIG. 9 andwork with the cooking appliance 2304 of FIG. 9 . In FIG. 10 , a firstantenna 2402 is neither coupled to a temperature sensitive element andnor to a passive analog circuit that would modified its resonantfrequency based on temperature. Instead, electromagnetic energy from theremote signal generator circuit 2310 (not shown in FIG. 10 ) is directlyabsorbed by the first antenna 2402 and multiplied, by a frequencymultiplier 2406, before the multiplied signal is fed into a secondantenna assembly 2410. The second antenna assembly 2410 can include asecond antenna 2414, a passive analog circuit 2418 (e.g., similar to thepassive analog circuit 2318), and a temperature sensitive element 2422(e.g., similar to the temperature sensitive element 2322).

In this embodiment, electromagnetic energy is absorbed by the firstantenna 2402 with similar efficiency as the first antenna 2314 of FIG. 9and multiplied. The coupling between the frequency multiplier 2406 andthe second antenna assembly 2410 is configured such that if the resonantfrequency of the second antenna assembly 2410 matches the signalfrequency output from the frequency multiplier 2406, transmission ofenergy can be efficient. The inverse is true if the output frequencyfrom the frequency multiplier 2406 does not match the resonant frequencyof the second antenna assembly 2410. From the observation point of theremote signal reader circuit 2312 of FIG. 9 , the wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2400 of FIG. 10 can behave similarly to the wirelesstemperature measurement device 2300 of FIG. 10 .

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device 2500 in communication with acooking appliance 2530. FIG. 11 represents at least one embodiment ofthe wireless temperature measurement device 2500 where a first antenna2502 can be used for the purpose of powering the device. The firstantenna 2502 is coupled to a temperature sensitive radiofrequencygenerator 2518. A power harvesting circuit 2506 receives power from thefirst antenna 2502 and delivers power to an oscillator 2510, whichgenerates a different frequency of signal based on temperature measuredby a temperature sensitive element 2514. In some embodiments, the firstantenna 2502 is configured to receive electromagnetic radio power. Insome embodiments, the first antenna 2502 is configured to receiveinduction power. The oscillator 2510, the power harvesting circuit 2506,and the temperature sensitive element 2514 can together be considered asthe temperature sensitive radiofrequency generator 2518.

The power harvesting circuit 2506 can contain power conditioningelements, which enable electromagnetic energy received from the firstantenna 2502 to be converted into usable energy for the oscillator 2510.In some embodiments (not shown), instead of electromagnetic energy, thepower harvesting circuit 2506 can harvest other types of energy from theambient environment of the cooking appliance 2530. For example, thepower harvesting circuit 2506 can harvest energy from vibration (e.g.,piezoelectric power harvesting) or temperature gradients (e.g., Peltierpower harvesting).

The signal generated by the temperature sensitive radiofrequencygenerator 2518 is fed into a second antenna 2522. The second antenna2522 can transmit/emit the signal from the temperature sensitiveradiofrequency generator 2518 for interpretation by a remote signalreader circuit 2526 (e.g., similar to the remote signal reader circuit2512).

A remote signal generator circuit 2528 in this embodiment does not needto produce a varying frequency signal. The function generated by theremote signal generator circuit 2528 for the first antenna 2502 can be awireless power generator. The remote signal reader circuit 2526 can be aradio frequency receiver. The remote signal generator circuit 2528 andthe remote signal reader circuit 2526 can be part of the cookingappliance 2530 (e.g., the cooking appliance 100). Wireless power fromthe remote signal generator circuit 2528 can be received by the firstantenna 2502 and harvested by the power harvesting circuit 2506. Asecond signal generated by the oscillator 2510 can be transmitted out ofthe second antenna 2522 and received by the remote signal reader circuit2526. The second signal can be used by a computing device of a cookingappliance to determine the temperature of the wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2500 based on the second signal.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device 2600 (e.g., a wirelesstemperature probe) in communication with a cooking appliance 2630 (e.g.,the cooking appliance 110). The wireless temperature measurement device2600 can be similar to the wireless temperature measurement device 2500with the following differences. The wireless temperature measurementdevice 2600 can include a temperature sensitive audio signal generator2618 instead of the temperature sensitive radiofrequency generator 2518.The wireless temperature measurement device 2600 can include a firstantenna 2602, the temperature sensitive audio signal generator 2618, anda speaker 2622. The temperature sensitive audio signal generator 2618can include a power harvesting circuit 2606 (e.g., similar to the powerharvesting circuit 2506), an oscillator 2610 (e.g., similar to theoscillator 2510), and a temperature sensitive element 2614 (e.g.,similar to the temperature sensitive element 2514). However, in thetemperature sensitive audio signal generator 2618, the oscillator 2610is configured to drive the speaker 2622 (e.g., an audio transducer).

A cooking appliance 2630 (e.g., the cooking appliance 110) can power andread temperature information from the wireless temperature measurementdevice 2600. For example, the cooking appliance 2630 can include aremote signal generator circuit 2628 for generating a power signal to beharvested by the power harvesting circuit 2606. The cooking appliance2630 can include a remote signal reader circuit 2626 that includes amicrophone. The remote signal reader circuit 2626 and/or a computingdevice of the cooking appliance 2630 can analyze the audio signalreceived from the speaker 2622 to determine temperature informationtransmitted by the wireless temperature measurement device 2600.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device 2700. The wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2700 can be the wireless temperature measurementdevice 2300 or the wireless temperature measurement device 2400. Inthese embodiments, a first antenna 2702 can represent the first antenna2302 or the second antenna 2414. A first antenna assembly 2704 canrepresent the first antenna assembly 2326 or the second antenna assembly2410. A diode 2706 can be coupled to the first antenna assembly 2704 anda second antenna 2708 respectively on its terminals. The diode 2706 canrepresent the frequency multiplier 2330 or the frequency multiplier2406. The second antenna 2708 can be the second antenna 2334 of FIG. 9or the first antenna 2402 of FIG. 10 .

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device 2800. The wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2800 is similar to the wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2700, except for that a first antenna 2802 has aspiral shape. The first antenna 2802 can function the same as the firstantenna 2702. A first antenna assembly 2804 can function the same as thefirst antenna assembly 2704. A diode 2806 can function the same as thediode 2706. A second antenna 2808 can function the same as the secondantenna 2708.

In various antenna-diode-antenna embodiments, the first antenna (e.g.,the first antenna 2702 or the first antenna 2802) is adapted with ageometry and material such that the first antenna is temperaturesensitive and its resonant frequency varies with temperature. Thefunction of the frequency multiplier 2330 can be served by a singlediode (e.g., the diode 2706 and/or the diode 2806). In theseembodiments, the remote signal generator circuit 2310 excites the firstantenna 2702 or the first antenna 2802 of the wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2700 or the wireless temperature measurement device2800 with varying first frequencies. The wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2700 or the wireless temperature measurement device2800 can then reemit the received energy in a second varying frequencywhich is a multiple (e.g., double) of the first frequency from thesecond antenna 2708 or the first antenna 2802.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device 2900 (e.g., wireless temperatureprobe). The wireless temperature measurement device 2900 is similar tothe wireless temperature measurement device 2700, except for that bothan antenna 2902 and an antenna assembly 2904 are coupled to bothterminals of a diode 2906. The antenna 2902 can function the same as thefirst antenna 2702. The antenna assembly 2904 can function the same asthe first antenna assembly 2704. A diode 2806 can function the same asthe diode 2706. The antenna 2902 can also function the same as thesecond antenna 2708. This can be done because the diode 2906 acts as afrequency multiplier, and thus prevents interference between the signalreceived on one end of the diode 2906 and the signal transmitted throughanother end of the diode 2906.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device 3000 (e.g., wireless temperatureprobe) in communication with a cooking appliance 3030. The wirelesstemperature measurement device 3000 includes a rechargeable battery3002, which may be recharged by a power source (e.g., external powersource, a power harvesting circuit, etc.), electronic sensing components3004, and an antenna A1. The electronic sensing components 3004 includea plurality of temperature sensing elements (TS1, TS2, and TS3),processing circuitry 3006, an accelerometer 3008, and wirelesscomponents 3010. Wireless components 3010 may facilitate any appropriatewireless communications technology for communicating sensor data tocorresponding wireless components 3034 of the cooking appliance 3030.The wireless components 3010 include a wireless device ID foridentifying the wireless temperature measurement device 3000 to thecooking apparatus 3030, and differentiating devices in a multiplewireless temperature measurement devices are being used.

The cooking appliance 3030 includes a cooking engine 3032 that analyzesthe sensor data and provides feedback to the user through a userinterface 3036 or to a client application 3060 on a user device 3038. Invarious embodiments, the user device 3050 may communicate through thewireless components 3034 or separate wireless communications components3038.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional top view of a cooking appliance 3700 inaccordance with various embodiments. In some embodiments, the cookingappliance 3700 can be virtually divided into cooking target zones (e.g.,Zone A, Zone B, Zone C, and Zone D, collectively as the “cooking targetzones A-D”). That is, food cooking recipes and heating sequences canreference these cooking target zones. Each of the cooking target zonesA-D can be defined by physically visible perimeters, 3702A, 3702B,3702C, and 3702D, respectively (collectively as the “visible perimeters3702A-D”). The visible perimeters A-D can be of different sizes andshapes (e.g., overall or rectangular). Each of the cooking target ZonesA-D has associated heating elements, A-D, respectively.

In some embodiments, the cooking appliance may cook multiple dishes atthe same time in difference cooking zones, with each dish having one ormore associated temperature probes. The temperature probes may beidentified by separate device identifiers which are associated by thecooking engine with a particular recipe in progress. The cookingappliance may verify the proper cooking zone of each dish by trackingthe location of the probes (e.g., probes 3710, 3711 and 3712) throughwireless location tracking, by monitoring the sensed heat in each zone,through image analysis of a captured camera image, or through othertechniques. The insertion depth of each probe may also be tested byflashing the heating elements in the associated zone and sensingfeedback from each of the temperature sensors.

In various embodiments, multi-zone cooking may be used to cook multiplefood items at the same time. For example, three separate meats may beprepared, each with at least one temperature probe. The probes may beassociated with a particular meat during food preparation by deviceidentifier (or during operation, for example, through image sensorfeedback from a camera of each meat). The user may place each meat (orother edible substance) in a separate zone of the multi-zone cookingappliance to cook the meats without further manual instructions from theuser. The multi-zone cooking appliance may briefly power up the heatingelements in each zone and monitor the temperature sensing elements toautomatically determine the zone associated with each recipe and theproper insertion of each temperature probe.

The foregoing disclosure and the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1through 17 are not intended to limit the present disclosure to theprecise forms or particular fields of use disclosed. As such, it iscontemplated that various alternate embodiments and/or modifications tothe present disclosure, whether explicitly described or implied herein,are possible in light of the disclosure. For example, although thetemperature probes disclosed herein are described with reference to thedisclosed cooking appliance, it is contemplated that the temperatureprobes disclosed herein may be used in other environments. In oneexample, the temperature probe may be used in other cookingenvironments, such as with an outdoor grill, and the temperature probemay provide sensor feedback directly to a user device (e.g., a mobilephone) through a wired or wireless communications coupling. In otherembodiments, the temperature probe may be used in a non-cookingenvironment, such as laboratory environments.

Some embodiments of the disclosure have other aspects, elements,features, and steps in addition to or in place of what is describedabove. These potential additions and replacements are describedthroughout the rest of the specification. Reference in thisspecification to “various embodiments” or “some embodiments” means thata particular feature, structure, or characteristic described inconnection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment ofthe disclosure. Alternative embodiments (e.g., referenced as “otherembodiments”) are not mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover,various features are described which may be exhibited by someembodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements aredescribed which may be requirements for some embodiments but not otherembodiments.

While some embodiments of the disclosure include processes or methodspresented in a given order, alternative embodiments may perform routineshaving steps, or employ systems having blocks, in a different order, andsome processes or blocks may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided,combined, and/or modified to provide alternative or subcombinations.Each of these processes or blocks may be implemented in a variety ofdifferent ways. In addition, while processes or blocks are at timesshown as being performed in series, these processes or blocks mayinstead be performed in parallel, or may be performed at differenttimes. When a process or step is “based on” a value or a computation,the process or step should be interpreted as based at least on thatvalue or that computation.

Some embodiments of the disclosure have other aspects, elements,features, and steps in addition to or in place of what is describedabove. These potential additions and replacements are describedthroughout the rest of the specification. Having thus describedembodiments of the present disclosure, persons of ordinary skill in theart will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for operating a cooking appliancecomprising: receiving, by a controller of the cooking appliance,wireless signals from a wireless temperature probe having a plurality oftemperature sensors distributed along a length of a probe body andadapted for insertion into an edible substance; tracking, by thecontroller, the wireless temperature probe outside the cooking applianceduring preparation of the edible substance for cooking, includingdetecting insertion of the wireless temperature probe into the ediblesubstance; determining, by the controller, that the wireless temperatureprobe and the edible substance have been moved into a chamber of thecooking appliance; and flashing, by the controller, a heating element ofthe cooking appliance on and off and detecting a corresponding responsefrom the wireless temperature probe to determine whether the wirelesstemperature probe is properly inserted into the edible substance.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising detecting a depth of center of theedible substance based on an insertion angle and/or an insertion depthof the wireless temperature probe.
 3. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising driving, in accordance with a recipe, the heating element toemit at a peak wavelength associated with the depth of the center of theedible substance.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising driving,by the controller in accordance with a recipe, the heating element togenerate heat in the chamber of the cooking appliance to cook the ediblesubstance.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein tracking, by thecontroller, the wireless temperature probe outside the cooking applianceduring preparation of the edible substance for cooking furthercomprises: determining whether the insertion of the wireless temperatureprobe into the edible substance outside of the cooking appliancesatisfies first insertion criteria; and generating a notification to auser to correct a position of the wireless temperature probe if thefirst insertion criteria is not satisfied.
 6. The method of claim 1,further comprising: determining, by the controller, whether the wirelesstemperature probe and the edible substance have been removed from thechamber of the cooking appliance; and monitoring, by the controller, atemperature of the edible substance after removal from the chamber ofthe cooking appliance.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein monitoringfurther comprises: notifying a user of a status of a recipe based atleast in part on the monitored temperature of the edible substanceoutside the chamber.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the wirelessprobe further comprises electrical components positioned inside theprobe body; and wherein the edible substance insulates the electricalcomponents from heat generated by the heating element during cookingwhen the wireless temperature probe is properly inserted into the ediblesubstance.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the electrical componentscomprise a power source, a microcontroller, and wireless componentsarranged on a substrate, and wherein the method further comprises:determining, by the controller based at least in part on the detectedcorresponding response, which of the plurality of temperature sensorsare positioned outside of the edible substance; and notifying a user ofan error in a position of the wireless temperature probe if, based onthe corresponding response, at least a portion of the electricalcomponents are not protected by the edible substance.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the wireless signals comprise sensor data received froman accelerometer disposed within the wireless temperature probe, andwherein the method further comprises tracking, by the controller,orientation and/or motion data of the wireless temperature probe basedon the sensor data.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprisingtracking, by the controller, a location of the wireless temperatureprobe relative to the cooking appliance, including a distance from thechamber.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting aninsertion depth and/or angle of the wireless temperature probe duringfood preparation outside of the chamber; and generating a notificationfor a user if the detected insertion depth and/or angle of the wirelesstemperature probe fails to meet an insertion requirement defined by arecipe.
 13. A system comprising: a heating element configured togenerate heat in a chamber of a cooking appliance; a wireless connectioninterface configured to receive wireless signals from a wirelesstemperature probe having a plurality of temperature sensors distributedalong a length of a probe body and adapted for insertion into an ediblesubstance; and a controller configured to interface with the heatingelement and wireless connection interface to execute a recipe, andwherein the controller is further configured to: track, through thewireless connection interface, the wireless temperature probe outsidethe cooking appliance, including detecting insertion of the wirelesstemperature probe into the edible substance; determine that the wirelesstemperature probe and the edible substance have been moved into thechamber of the cooking appliance; flash the heating element on and off;and detect a corresponding response from the wireless temperature probeto determine whether the wireless temperature probe is properly insertedinto the edible substance.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein thecontroller is further configured to: determine that the wirelesstemperature probe and the edible substance have been removed from thechamber of the cooking appliance; and monitor, through the wirelessconnection interface, a temperature of the edible substance afterremoval from the chamber of the cooking appliance.
 15. The system ofclaim 14, wherein monitor, through the wireless connection interface,the temperature of the edible substance after removal from the chamberof the cooking appliance, further comprises: notify a user of a statusof the executed recipe based at least in part on the monitoredtemperature of the edible substance outside the chamber.
 16. The systemof claim 13, wherein the wireless temperature probe comprises electricalcomponents in the probe body disposed at a location providing insulationby the edible substance during cooking when the wireless temperatureprobe is properly inserted into the edible substance; and wherein thecontroller is configured detect a corresponding response from thewireless temperature probe to the flashing to determine whether theelectrical components are properly insulated by the edible substancebefore cooking.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the electricalcomponents comprise a power source, a microcontroller, and wirelesscomponents arranged on a substrate; wherein the corresponding responseindicates which of the plurality of temperature sensors are positionedoutside of the edible substance; and wherein the controller is furtherconfigured to generate a message notifying a user of an error in aposition of the wireless temperature probe if, based on thecorresponding response, the controller determines that at least aportion of the electrical components are not protected by the ediblesubstance.
 18. The system of claim 13, wherein the controller is furtherconfigured to detect a depth of center of the edible substance based onan insertion angle and/or an insertion depth of the wireless temperatureprobe; and wherein, during execution of the recipe, the controller isfurther configured to drive the heating element to emit at a peakwavelength associated with the depth of the center of the ediblesubstance.
 19. The system of claim 13, wherein the wireless signalscomprise sensor data received from an accelerometer disposed within thewireless temperature probe, and wherein the controller tracksorientation and/or motion data of the wireless temperature based on thesensor data; and wherein the wireless connection interface is furtherconfigured to track a location of the wireless temperature proberelative to the cooking appliance, including a distance from thechamber.
 20. The system of claim 13, wherein the cooking appliance isfurther configured to detect an insertion depth and/or angle of thewireless temperature probe during food preparation outside of thechamber and generate a notification for a user if the detected insertiondepth and/or angle of the wireless temperature probe fails to meet aninsertion requirement defined by the executed recipe.